CHAIRMAN’S OVERVIEW OF THE QUARTER

The Council’s work this quarter has been dominated by trying to improve highway safety in the parish. We have asked Essex County Council once again to try to solve the problem of persistent water leaks in Howe Green Road, especially those in the vicinity of West Cottage and Howe Green Farm. The County Council’s engineers have acknowledged that the situation needs remedying before winter comes and the water starts to freeze, and they appear now to accept that the problems are caused by leaking pipes rather than ‘natural springs’.

We have asked for speed surveys to be carried out in Chelmsford Road, Cold Norton Road, Fambridge Road and Hackmans Lane and the results of those surveys will help determine where to ask for Speed Indicator Devices to be located. The County Council has also agreed that as soon as funds permit, the Vehicle Activated Signs in Chelmsford Road, Fambridge Road and Hackmans Lane will be made permanent.

On Monday, 3rd August, members of the Parish Council met with residents and representatives from the Highways Department to discuss traffic calming measures in Chelmsford Road. It was a very positive meeting, and as a result, the County Council is currently investigating installing new gateway signs, imposing a weight limit and extending the 30mph speed limit. Designs for the new gateway are being drawn up, a Large Vehicle Count is being undertaken and the policy team at County Hall are reviewing the speed limit. The Parish Council is very grateful to all the residents who attended the meeting, their input was extremely helpful. At the Parish Council’s request the Police have also been carrying out enforcement action in the parish, with notable success in Cock Clarks where six drivers have been successfully prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit since the beginning of the year, and another five cases are pending.

Congratulations are once again due to all our allotment tenants. At the annual site inspection carried out on 30th August it was a genuine pleasure to see the results of so much hard work and to see the wide variety of produce being grown which included soft fruit, vegetables, salad crops, herbs and flowers. Allotment rents will remain at £20 per plot per annum in 2009/2010 and there are currently eight people on the waiting list for a plot.

The Audit Commission has successfully concluded the audit of the Parish Council’s accounts for the financial year 2008/2009 and has concluded that the information contained in the Annual Return meets Audit Commission requirements, complies with all relevant legislation and meets the Parish Council’s regulatory requirements. No matters of concern were noted. A copy of the Annual Return has been displayed on the notice boards at Pump Corner, Cock Clarks and Maldon Road and can be viewed by arrangement with the Clerk. Full copies of the accounts upon which the Annual Return is based can also be viewed on the web site www.purleigh.com.

During the quarter the Parish Council has forwarded recommendations to Maldon District Council on twelve planning applications, and two Parish Councillors attended a seminar on the production of Parish Plans in the district. We have also responded to numerous consultation documents on parishioners’ behalf, including one concerning the modernisation of the Essex Registration Service. We supported any measures designed to make registering births and deaths easier for relatives but opposed increased computerisation of the service.

If you are interested in the work of the Parish Council or have an issue you would like to raise, please come along to meetings or contact the Clerk in the usual ways.

During the period 1^st April 2009 to 30^th September 2009 the Parish Council received £65,983.46 and spent £36,573.01 on parishioners’ behalf. At 30^th September 2009 the following monies were held:

The main source of income during the period 1st July to 30th September was Pavilion hiring fees (£1,155). Fees are reviewed every year at the February Parish Council meeting when Members consider a detailed breakdown of income from, and expenditure on, the pavilion and playing field for the current and forthcoming financial years. The facilities are owned and managed by the Council as a community resource and when reviewing the letting fees careful consideration is given to the increased cost of providing the facilities and to the individual needs of each user group. The aim being to ensure that local clubs and organisations can flourish and the pavilion and playing field are well used, whilst at the same time trying to minimise the expense levied on those parishioners who do not use the facilities.

Expenditure on the pavilion and playing field so far this financial year has amounted to £2,322.43, excluding the cost of grasscutting and insurance. Unfortunately this quarter three windows panes, which were deliberately broken, had to be replaced with vandal resistant glass which added to the cost of general maintenance. In the interests of public safety the Parish Council also replaced 75 metres of perished verandah decking at cost of £436.

Community Speed Watch Initiative

Since the last report, seven people in the parish have put their names forward to train for the Community Speed Watch Programme. Thank you very much indeed for volunteering. The names of the volunteers have been forwarded to Carrie Sawkins, who is the Community Safety Development Officer now responsible for administering the scheme, and to Essex Police. The Police have subsequently advised that they are not running any courses at the moment and probably won’t be until the New Year. Once training starts again however, Purleigh’s volunteers will be contacted. It’s still not too late to join the programme so if anyone else would like to get involved please contact Carrie at carrie.sawkins@maldon.gov.uk or on 01621 854477.

To hire the Wells Pavilion please contact Steven Potter on 01621 828270.

Occasional bookings for Purleigh residents cost £6.00 per hour, and regular bookings for local clubs and organisations cost £5.00 per hour.

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